Galaxy Alpha's Death Will Inspire Samsung To Design A Better Smartphone

Launched in August 2014, Samsung's Galaxy Alpha was an interesting play by Samsung. Rather than specifications, the emphasis on the Alpha was placed on style and form rather than function and capability. With reports coming in that the Alpha's production run is coming to an end, the handset has given Samsung a signpost to success in 2015.

The primary lesson from the Galaxy Alpha is that specifications go hand-in-hand with cost. There should be a direct relationship between what consumers will pay for a handset, and the level of hardware they will have. Paying Galaxy S5 prices and receiving Galaxy S5 Mini specifications does not seem to have gone down well with the public.

The trade that Samsung offered purchasers was a mid-range handset in terms of power that looked like a King among Princes. The brushed steel construction, the metal chassis, the vibrant AMOLED screen, and the thin 6.7 mm body, all screamed "look at me, I'm fashionable!"

Irrespective of when the last Alpha rolls off the production line, the handset should not be seen as a misfire from Samsung but a stepping stone towards a successful strategic plan for 2015. The South Korean company tried something new, and gathered data from a new product line. Rather than continuing to iterate an existing design, the Alpha was unique and strong because it had very little lineage to previous handsets and had a clear focus on its deliverables.

You can be sure that the primary focus is not going to be on looks, design, or style. Rather the presentations and marketing are going to push the raw power, the speed, and the capability of the presumed S6 smartphone. The emphasis on high specifications can already be seen in press releases and statements on the 2015 strategy coming out of Samsung's Head Office.

That's not to say the new design cues of the Galaxy Alpha will be lost. Samsung's 'out of season' handsets in the A3 and A5 continue the design cues of the Galaxy Alpha (rather than the Galaxy S5), with the forty-five degree bevelled edge, the metal framed chassis, and the focus on fashion. There's every chance that the Galaxy S6 will look more like an Alpha than an S5. But the experiment in using looks to sell a Samsung has not delivered the results that would be needed to justify this strategy.

Samsung is committed to reducing the product lines and models it has on sale, so the quiet retirement of the Galaxy Alpha should not be a surprise given the sales figures. But it could turn out to be the smartest smartphone that Samsung sold in 2014 if the South Korean company can learn the right lesson from its demise.